PerreaultForever

He is, but there are a lot of guys on Calgary who can handle themselves so anything can break out. and probably will.

yes definitely. I'd say the Eichel trade is a bit different but was a smart one to make. A guy like Tuch, already proven and a childhood fan won't come to them every day, and Krebs isn't all that proven yet, I'd call him a probable, but not sure on his ceiling yet. But otherwise yes. To you latter point that's definitely Toronto's problem. Vegas is a little different. They had a good thing going and could have built off that step by step but they got so close so fast they got greedy and that has flipped it upside down so it'll collapse soon enough if not already. This is why in free agency I usually advocate going after specific weaknesses, role players and stop gap people rather than over priced stars. Better value can be found in slightly over paying (if necessary) 3rd and 4th liners and depth players who compliment and enhance your home grown talent. Just have to steer clear of those long term no move clauses.

Definitely, and that was part of the Skinner scenario. Also why JBot should have stuck to a line in the sand with a more reasonable number. Skinner wanted to play near southern Ontario. JBot held almost as much leverage as Skinner's agent had, but he was worried for his job I guess and I suppose hadn't worked out a line with the owner. It was a failed negotiation regardless but that's yesterday's news. Point is you're right, it used to be a desirable place to play and could be again. Should be. Word will travel from players like Power and Tuch. Assuming we start winning of course.

Disagree entirely. Big saves, blocked shots, heavy hits, lots of things besides goals make for good games. Intensity is what matters, not how many go in the net.

Some Aaron Dell level goaltending in that Calgary Edmonton game on both sides but that was just the warm up. This is going to get heated and combust at some point. Love it.

Think you'd need to expand your idea into southern Ontario for a decent pool of players who might want to be closer to "home" even if maybe Buffalo is second choice to the Laughs. Like that.

I think that was the one St. Louis had a shot to steal and maybe had to steal it to have a chance.

I wonder if Hamilton will tweet about Reinhart's stats from game 1? 🙂

Doesn't Scheifele want out anyway? That was a rumor a while back. idk, I think Winnipeg won more games when they grinded it out. They don't have the talent to play wide open. So he fits unless they want to tear down and redo.

Yes they're flying, and they are also letting a lot of goals in. I don't think Trotz advocates slow, he just has tight structure and they don't let the other team do what they want. We struggled mightily against those sort of teams (eg. Boston) and those 2-1 playoff games are Trotz type hockey. let's revisit this after Calgary -Edmonton because that is a perfect clash of what you see as old and new. If Edmonton wins you're right, but if Calgary wins, and I think they will, then maybe it's not completely outdated just yet. Ya, don't see Lambert changing them too much, the rumor going around is that Trotz and Barzal had beef and Barzal I guess won.

So I'm watching the LetterKenny hockey spin off Shorsey (it's dumb but also what you expect) and there was one line that got me thinking Sabres, especially Sabre led by Eichel Reinhart Risto. The sentence went something like "it's not that they don't want to win, but the kids today don't hate to lose" and I thought ya, that sums up the era. For all the stick smashing and so forth there was also a lot of acceptance and whatever. So my point is, whoever is in the line up next year, I want a line up where everyone hates to lose. So even if that's a less talented guy over a more talented guy give me that team. Give me a team where every single one of them HATES TO LOSE.

Winnipeg interviewing Trotz. That would be a good fit imo. They were close to playing Trotz style hockey in the bubble season. Won't take a lot to get them to play his way and be a tough team to play against.

Two in Florida this year with Quennville's resignation so he actually saw more.

idk the answer to this but it's interesting to consider. I don't believe the BU team was considered close knit, but I could be wrong. It is kind interesting that when people get away from Jack they get better. We as a team got better, Reinhart was at his best for us without Jack around and was his best this year (although better team it could be argued but still.....) and perhaps the best example is E-Rod. Consider perhaps the difference between Sid's influence and work ethic and that of Jack's.

Masterton trophy finalist. He is an incredible athlete.

Well Bourque was a long time ago and they let him go as a favour. They were not close at that point and gave him a cup run. He's back in the fold these days. Chara was a painful decision for them and they kept him as long as they could with league minimums but he went past his expiry date in their minds. He will still retire a Bruin, bet on it.

That's pretty much true. (kind of like how Jack Eichel's favourite team is............oh never mind, you know already :)) I think the Leafs try to trade Nylander. He's at peak value after a solid season and he's the lesser part of the big four (unless Tavares waives his no move clause which is unlikely since he had Leaf pajamas). And no, we don't want him. They will try to find a gritty power forward type in exchange. My hope though is they will stay the course since this was close and they will just do it all over again next year........

Curtis Brown. Now there's a name I'd kind of forgotten. I think his work ethic will keep him off the floor, just not sure how long it will take as I mentioned.

Well no, it isn't, but I don't want to build a winning in the regular season only team, I don't want to be the Leafs. I want to build a playoff ready team.

Well that's fair to a point, but if you put your Bruins hate aside for a second and actually looked at the culture they have and the team bonds you'd realize that it's very unlikely. Not impossible, but I think it only happens if the Bruins don't want him any more (which is also unlikely).

I only mentioned Lazar because everyone is familiar with him. He's a guy who plays hard and well but can almost never score. Kesler's another possible I agree. Mike Richards (before his drug problems) is another guy I think of. We're thinking along the same lines.

I recorded this game and am watching it now (just starting the 3rd for me). Totally agree with you. Nemec looks very good. Cozens is playing very well but as he did in Buffalo he just lacks finish. If he learns to get those shots on goal past the goalie he will be phenomenal, if he doesn't, he'll become a tenacious checking forward. It's kind of like he could be a ROR or a Trochek type or even a Staal but could also end up a Lazar. He needs that last leap forward like we saw Thompson take. I think it'll happen, just a question of when.

Exactly what I was afraid of. This might indicate he won't be ready to compete at the NHL level yet. Guess we will see how he grows.

Pretty entertaining first round and some close series but in the end no real upsets. The two teams that pulled "upsets" had almost equal point totals to their opponent so not really upsets at all. See if that continues next round. Calgary-Edmonton, Tampa-Florida, heated rivalries, who could ask for more?